


Scorpius Malfoy and the Apple Wand

by Aryllia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: All the muggleborn children are in distress, Astoria is in perfect health btw, Draco and Astoria being an adorable couple, Gen, Hogwarts meets gen z, I have not even read the cursed child, Malfoys meet muggles, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Not because of racism - Hogwarts just isn't smartphone compatible at all, Ollivander has one appearance but he knows exactly what the plot will be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2020-10-13 08:36:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20579615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aryllia/pseuds/Aryllia
Summary: It is Scorpius Malfoy's first year at Hogwarts. The wizarding world has largely moved on from the war, and a new generation is growing up. It is the age of google and smartphones, of memes and cringe and social media. Or it will be if Hogwarts ever installs a single electrical outlet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Malfoy Manor, Christmas 2016.

Scorpius Malfoy nudged a garland of gilded greenery out of the way before carefully opening the 28th door of the day and holding up a candle for light. The room beyond appeared to be some rarely used work space. A bench lined the farthest wall, with cauldrons piled beneath it. There was only one painting here and it seemed uninhabited. The remaining wall space was claimed by empty shelves and cabinets. Scorpius closed the door again and continued his trek down the hallway.

This part of the manor wasn’t lived in and was only decorated on principle. Scorpius liked it, even if it was creepy and he had to carry around a candle since some rooms - like the workroom - didn’t have windows and therefore weren’t lit magically. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do than walking the hallways. It was too cold and dark to go flying, and he had already eaten enough dinner and candy to feel a bit sick.

His family wouldn’t miss him, at least not yet. When he had left the sitting room his dad had been engrossed in tinkering with an antique omniscope that needed a few charms replaced, and his mum and grandmother had sipped champagne and talked about something-or-other that Scorpius was too young to hear about. That left grandfather, who had been staring into the fire ever since grandmother helped him into his armchair a few hours ago.

No, exploring the manor was much more fun. Granted, he didn’t even know what their two house-elves, Metty and Affy, were up to, but they always insisted he’d stay clean and safe and that ruled out just about everything that Scorpius thought was fun. Affy’s idea of fun was folding socks, that was not an option - not on Christmas.

Compared to folding clothes, counting rooms (ten bedrooms, five bathrooms, three walk-in closets and another ten miscellaneous rooms) wasn’t a bad way to spend the evening. Scorpius opened door 29 and grinned to himself. Not bad at all, if you find a narrow little stairway he was certain he had never seen before. He was on the top floor too, so it had to lead to some kind of attic space. Scorpius wasted no time climbing them, unsettling years worth of dust in his wake.

* * *

The attic space was everything Scorpius had anticipated it would be. Dusty, cramped and filled with treasures.

Well, for a given value of treasure. Other than a narrow winding path the space was filled with boxes, all of them carefully labelled in either his grandmother’s elegant calligraphy or Metty’s careful block lettering. The ones closest to the stairs seemed, upon a cursory glance, to contain baby pictures of Scorpius. He ignored them in favour of the older boxes further in, settling on one labelled “Assorted, not family”.

These photos showed, in fading colour, how a veritable horde of richly dressed people milled through the equally richly decorated rooms of Malfoy Manor. Politicians and pureblood nobility from twenty to thirty years ago, judging by the short notes penned on the backside of the photos.

One had the writing “Fudge, MoM, with Mr Nott - 1992” and showed two politely smiling men. One of them was at least as old as Scorpius grandfather was now (had to be Natalia Nott’s grandfather? Yeah, it probably was) and the other had a bowler hat with evergreen pinned to the brim and looked a little silly for it.

The next photo must have been placed in the box by mistake, because it clearly showed Scorpius’ grandfather sitting in the drawing room surrounded by - Scorpius flipped the photo to read - Mr Crabbe, Mr Goyle, Mr Yaxley and Mr Snape, all of them seated in front of the fire and drinking something that was probably liqueur.

It was like looking into another world, or an alternate universe, where the Manor at least occasionally bustled with life. Photo after photo displayed similar grandeur. Scorpius wished that he had been there so he could have seen it for himse-

“Young Master!”

Scorpius, startled at the sound of Affy’s panicked shriek, accidentally dropped the photos he’d been holding.

“Oh young master knows he shouldn’t be here, mistress Astoria has been so worried for young master - and look at young master’s clothes, dusty all over!”

Scorpius grimaced as the elf fussed about correcting his clothes. He barely managed to sneak one of the photos into his pocket before Affy gathered up the rest and put them back in the box with short, fidgety movements.

“I just wanted to look at the pictures, there’s nothing dangerous up here anyway. Only dust and boxes.”

Affy smiled very briefly, but then she looked stern again and clicked her tongue.

“Young master knows that he isn’t allowed to be here. Affy shouldn’t have let young master wander off like this. Oh, young master, and Metty who had hoped for a peaceful Christmas, young master knows that Metty always worries so much for young master.”

Metty, their other house elf, was so old that she usually was left to do the easiest chores in the manor - and supervising Affy. She had been looking after Scorpius’ grandfather when he was young and Scorpius was quite sure that she didn’t worry all that much about anyone unless they were in a portrait - or making a mess.

Scorpius didn’t protest as he was led down the stairs from the attic, hand held gently by the elf as if she thought he would run away. He wouldn’t, but didn’t protest anyway. Affy always moved in a series of twitches, something Scorpius dad had explained as nerve damage. It worried Scorpius when she walked in stairs instead of just apparating from one floor to another. She seemed confident, but the stairs were awfully steep and it’d be easy to miss a step.

When they walked through the empty hallways, Scorpius surreptitiously stuck his hand in his pocket and touched the photo. The manor had looked different once. Bustling and lively and alive. Five or seven persons weren’t enough to fill a manor, especially not with how the house elves preferred to blend into the background.

Even if Christmas had been unusually quiet this year, he had never seen the manor as brimming with people as it had been in those photos. The Notts and the Greengrasses were distant and unobtrusive people who made the emptiness more palpable. Pansy could light up a room, but she was still only one person, and right now she was delayed somewhere in Indonesia.

Scorpius wished he had more people to fill out the empty spaces with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shopping! Meeting people! Draco being a teeny tiny bit on the paranoid side. Is That A Potter?

Scorpius stood hunched outside the small second floor sitting room and tried to hear what his family was talking about through the keyhole. It was something they were trying to keep from him, whatever it was. Just as he thought he heard his name mentioned the keyhole bit his ear. He reached up to feel it, but then his ear fell off entirely.

Well, it wasn’t bleeding and he couldn’t feel the sting from the bite anymore, but he’d still rather have it attached again so he walked down the corridor to see if he could find Metty.

As he walked he had the nagging feeling that something was off. Why was he looking for Metty in a forest? No, where had the forest come from anyway? He soon forgot about that though, when he saw a nest full of brightly coloured Easter eggs on the ground. Picking one up, he realised it was the charmed jewel egg his grandmother kept in the drawing room.

"Scorpius."

Scorpius looked up to find a huge, white, long legged bird staring down at him.

"Ah, are these your eggs?" he asked, motioning with the one he was holding.

"Scorpius, wake up already."

* * *

Scorpius opened his eyes and realised he was still in bed. Right, he'd gotten the Hogwarts letter the other day.

He dozed for a bit longer before going up and heading down to the dining room where half the table was covered by a mountain of suitcases. His dad, sitting by the other half of the table, looked up from his newspaper.

"Scorpius, you can't move to Scotland in your pajamas."

Scorpius was about to protest when someone shook his arm.

* * *

He opened his eyes again and saw Affy.

"Really, young master, if young master sleep any longer young master won't have time for breakfast before it's time to go shopping!"

"Shopping?" Scorpius asked, still a bit disoriented. He looked around and noted that he was back, no, still in his bedroom.

"In Diagon Alley young master, for young master's school supplies. Mistress Astoria and mistress Narcissa have already tried to wake young master twice, and Affy needs to do something about young master's bedding." she looked disapprovingly at the mess of bundled sheets. "Affy is considering just sewing it to the mattress."

Scorpius hummed in vague agreement as he gracefully rolled out of bed and successfully managed to not land on his face. He wasn't entirely awake, but going to Diagon Alley would be fun.

* * *

It was an effort, but Scorpius managed to resist the urge to drag his fingers through his now slicked back hair. The gel was icky and made his hair feel as if he had emptied a bottle of glue over his head - a thought that brought back unpleasant memories. Looking into the hallway mirror he came to the conclusion that it was a hair helmet.

His letter from Hogwarts had arrived at breakfast yesterday and his parents and grandmother had showered him with praise and general affection the whole day. Scorpius tried not to think of what their reaction would have been if he hadn't gotten a letter. Which was silly, he'd been doing accidental magic for years, of course he'd get a letter.

His mum stepped into view of the mirror, absently petting her charmed silver snake bracelet before it coiled itself around her wrist.

"Scorpius dear, are you ready?"

Scorpius nodded, and followed her through the large fireplace in the parlour to the Leaky Cauldron, his father stepping out of the fireplace only moments later. The place was full of people, but Scorpius was led out to the backyard before he could get a good look. A pity, as a family came in from the front just before they left and Scorpius was curious at what seemed like an ongoing argument between two dark-haired boys. He thought he heard one of them mention Slytherin and someone cried "will not!" just as Scorpius' dad closed the door behind them and stalked over to the brick wall.

"Draco dearest, relax."

"I am relaxed," Scorpius’ father bit out.

"Your shoulders are up by your ears dearest. Just imagine if Pansy happen to bump into us, she would never let you live it down if she saw you like this you know."

A deep breath later, and Scorpius' dad slowly lowered his shoulders.

"I love you, but don't threaten me with Pansy when she's in China."

Scorpius' mum linked arms with both of them, and his dad opened the wall portal to Diagon Alley with its magical merchants and the goods they sold. Scorpius eagerly drank in the sights and tried to take in as much of it as he could. Rough voices haggling over prices, children chattering away and a steady murmur of conversation. Exotic smells that poured out of some of the shops every time a door was opened.

Over the houses he could barely make out the faint light of the Patroni-wards that kept out any stray Dementor attack. Scorpius was fairly sure that the attacks were pretty infrequent these days, but he noticed that his parents also looked at the wards and seemed calmed by the light.

Since the cauldron shop was closest to them, a cauldron was their first purchase, closely followed by potion ingredients. Taken aback by the smell, Scorpius tried to breath as little as possible until they left the apothecary.

Scorpius dragged his feet just a little bit when they passed the owl emporium. He was quite certain that if he asked for an owl he would get one, but his father always praised the aggressive and territorial behaviour of his own eagle owl and Scorpius didn't want to risk getting an animal like Ruthless.

The air in Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment was far better than in the apothecary, and now that the novelty of Diagon Alley was wearing off Scorpius noticed that something wasn't right. People kept giving them odd looks. The shopkeeper had the same look on her face as Scorpius' grandmother would on the discovery of lice in her flowerbeds, and another woman pulled her child closer when they passed her by. It was unnerving enough that Scorpius didn't protest when his mother steered him around like a small child, her grip having moved to his shoulder. The contact was comforting, and her bracelet moved around to glare at anyone that turned their way.

Once they had bought a telescope, scales and a carefully wrapped set of crystal phials, the family continued down the alley. Suddenly Scorpius' dad halted. Scorpius followed his stare but saw nothing more than two boys his own age, getting fitted for their robes in the window of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"Are we getting my robes from there? Dad?"

Finally he seemed to shake out of his odd mood and turned back to Scorpius.

"No, we'll get those at Twilfit and Tattings."

For a moment it seemed as if he would say something more, but then they continued down the alley.

* * *

Getting robes took more time than Scorpius would have wished in the balmy weather. In addition to his school robes there was a question of whether he needed more leisure clothes ("no"), five kinds of footwear ("why?") or a new winter cap ("but it's July!"). Finally it was only the books and the wand left. Scorpius' father had already decided that they were saving the books for last, which meant-

"Kiddell makes perfectly acceptable wands."

"Dearest, I really think we ought to at least try Ollivanders."

"I really don't see-"

"It's been nineteen years-"

"-And people who barely know us still remember! I hardly see how he of all people would have forgotten."

"At least we ought to try, and you shouldn’t glare like that dear, it makes you look constipated."

His dad grumbled, but Scorpius’ mum won out and she dragged them to Ollivanders.

The inside of the wand shop was small and with a distinct air of "shabby", more so than the attic at Malfoy Manor. When Scorpius' eyes had gotten used to the dim light he noticed a red-haired girl in the middle of the room, accompanied by a woman holding several packages similar to what Scorpius' parents were carrying. There was also an apron-clad man, roughly the same age as Scorpius' parents, who seemed to work there and, behind a small desk, a man so old that he just might be mummified.

"Malfoys, I was wondering if you would show up," the might-be-mummy said hoarsely. "You will have to wait while Miss Nettlebed tries for her wand."

Scorpius might have imagined it, but his dad seemed relieved as he gave the old man a curt nod. The man in the apron looked as if he wanted to protest something, but the old man waved him towards the Nettlebed girl.

"Spruce and dragon heartstring, twelve inches and unyielding."

The girl took the wand and gave it a flick. The resulting explosion caused most of the wands on the left wall to fly off the shelves and out of their boxes, scattering in the room with a great clattering. One of them caught Scorpius eye as it rolled in a wide arch towards him.

"No, clearly no - Mr. Summers, do put the wands back in order and try Poplar next time."

As the very old man spoke, the rolling wand came to a stop by Scorpius' toes, and he picked it up. His arm felt warm, and his hand tingled where the wand touched. He gave it a flick.

At that instant, just as the apron-man, Summers, was about to raise his own wand, the scattered wands flew back into their boxes and restocked themselves on the shelves. Everyone in the shop turned to look at Scorpius, and he had to fight the sensation that he should hide the wand behind his back.

Then a sound came from the very old man, not unlike that of a dying Whizz Popper. It took a moment until Scorpius realised it was laughter.

"Impatient, aren't we?" The very old man very slowly rose from his chair. He summoned a wand box as he slowly made his way towards Scorpius, peering up at him. "Apple wood and dragon heartstring. Ten and three quarter inch long, springy. Not a wand I would have expected to choose you, young Malfoy."

For some reason, the very old man seemed amused by this.

* * *

Ten minutes later they were walking back towards Flourish & Blotts, and Scorpius had a nagging feeling that he had missed the punchline to a joke.

“Malfoy, is that you?”

Scorpius tuned at the same time as his parents did and saw a tall man with obnoxiously fashionable robes wave at them. Close behind was a slightly familiar dark-haired boy in Scorpius' age. It was one of the boys from the Madam Malkis' shop window.

“Ah thought as much, there’s no mistaking that blond hair after all. And this is your wife and son, I take it?”

Scorpius’ father hummed noncommittally and discreetly placed himself between Scorpius and the man.

“Yes, this is Astoria and Scorpius. And you...” Scorpius pictured how his father mentally flipped through piles of business cards trying to find the appropriate name for the face “... Vaisey, right? You were a chaser for Slytherin.”

The recollection seemed to relax Scorpius' dad somewhat, and the man gave a cheerful smile.

“Quite so, though these days I’m head of Slytherin.” Vaisey then clasped a hand down on the dark-haired boy and hauled him up in front of the Malfoys. “And this is Michel Bellamy. His mother is a friend of mine so I'm looking after him while he's in England. A real ray of sunshine isn't he?”

At that, Michel went from looking bored to affronted, and Scorpius felt a bit sorry for him. At least Scorpius had his parents with him to shop for Hogwarts. Scorpius' dad and Vaisey went into a rather predictable “and what have you been doing the last decade or so” kind of discussion. Scorpius spent the time trying to talk to Bellamy, who was from France but would for some reason be studying at Hogwarts rather than Beauxbatons.

He didn’t seem particularly thrilled about it.

“Well, it's nice seeing you again Vaisey, but we must keep going. This day is getting far too warm to spend conversing on the street.”

“By all means, it is surprisingly warm for good old England.” Vaisey then turned to Scorpius. “I'm looking forward to teaching you transfiguration Mr. Malfoy. Until then.”

As they walked away Scorpius tugged at his father's sleeve.

“He was an old friend of yours? Why hasn't he ever visited the manor?”

“We played quidditch together, but he's a bit older than me so we didn't interact much outside of practice. We both left the country for a few years after school, so there wasn't much chance of us keeping contact.”

Scorpius turned to his mother.

"Don't look to me dear, I am younger than your father and I barely knew who he was in school."

"I recall you telling me I was quite infamous in school."

"Knowing about you is not the same as knowing who you are dearest, and you know that very well."

His parents kept up the lighthearted bickering until they reached Flourish & Blotts, but Scorpius soon tuned it out. It was closing in to midday now and it was warmer and more crowded than before. When the bookstore finally came into view it seemed to have far too many people, way too many books and not nearly enough quidditch gear - unlike the store next to it.

“Scorpius dear, I was planning to make a few purchases for your grandparents while your father gets your books. Is there anything you need outside of your school supplies?”

A new broomstick, ice cream, perhaps some fireworks... Hastily sorting out his priorities, Scorpius gestured towards Quality Quidditch Supplies.

“Actually mother, I was thinking of looking at the new brooms and maybe, um-”

“And maybe restock your supply of tornadoes memorabilia?” his father supplied. He looked amused though, and Scorpius congratulated himself on his choice. He wasn't quite as obsessed with quidditch as his father thought, but he liked it more than his parents liked explosives.

“Very well. Just remember to not leave the shop. I will be twenty minutes at the very most and after that we should have time for refreshments before meeting up with your mother and returning home.”

Scorpius perked up. “Refreshments” on a hot July day usually meant ice cream - and it was well needed. As such he felt a great gratitude to whoever maintained the cooling charm in the quidditch shop. Even if there were as many people in there as in the bookstore the air was crisp and well circulated to the point of being draughty.

The first thing that caught Scorpius' eye in the shop was a displayed broomstick on a raised dais, enclosed in glass casing, no doubt there to protect it from the grubby hands of a group of children that stood with their noses pressed as close as possible to the broom. A group of adults stood a few inches away from the glass, eyeing the broom just as eagerly but with their hands clasped behind their backs.

With some effort, Scorpius managed to make his way to the glass casing and he read, from a gilded plate, the words

**Falcon G3**   
** Prototype**

It was, quite possibly, love at first sight. The handle not only had a new - no doubt revolutionary - design for improved aerodynamics, it also seemed like it would provide a good grip and it was decorated with the trademark silhouette of the falcon series' namesake

“She is beautiful” moaned a boy nearby, voicing Scorpius' thoughts.

“It sure is,” Scorpius agreed “look at the bristles, I bet it could turn on a knut at full speed -”

“-And what a speed” interrupted a girl, probably a few years younger than Scorpius.

The boy tore his eyes away from the broom to look at the girl.

“What do you know about speed? You're too small to play for real anyway.”

“Seekers have to be small - dad says so!”

“You're nine!”

Scorpius looked from one to the other until he settled for the boy, who seemed to be closer to his own age.

“Do you play quidditch?”

“Yeah, as chaser. Well, only with family and friends. I was a firstie last year so they wouldn't let me try out. You?”

Scorpius shrugged. “This will be my first year. We don’t have neighbours and my family is pretty small, but my dad has been teaching me. He wants me to be a seeker, but that seems boring.”

This sparked a fierce debate with the girl, who wanted to be a seeker like her dad had been. Gradually Scorpius found out that her name was Lily, that she cheered for the Holyhead Harpies and that she used her brother's old Skysweeper. The boy was the aforementioned brother, James, and they had another brother called Al as well as almost a dozen cousins.

“So, you said this'll be your first year?”

“Yeah, dad is in the bookstore buying my books.”

“Cool, then you'll be in the same year as Al. Too bad we couldn't get him in here without using brute force.”

“He doesn't like quidditch?”

“Nah. He'll play because everyone else in the family does, but he's really rubbish at it. He's more like our aunt 'Mione, sits in a library with a pile of books instead. He's good with explosives though.”

As far as Scorpius was concerned any connection to pyrotechnics instantly made up for lack of quidditch enthusiasm.

“So he’s buying books then?”

“Don’t think so. I heard him ask dad for a more extensive potion set before we made a run for it. Hopefully they’re getting something that can blow up.”

After that the discussion turned to prank items. It seemed as if James knew the inventory of Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes by heart, as well as a fair deal of the merchandise from other stores as well. Far too soon the time was up and Scorpius father clasped his shoulder.

“Scorpius, have you found something you want?”

“No, I sort of got distracted.” Scorpius replied, nodding towards the broom and his new friends.

“Right. We better get going so come along.”

Scorpius barely had time to say his goodbyes before he was practically dragged out, much like he had been in the morning. Just like at that time, Scorpius’ dad seemed tense and stressed.

“Who were those children you were talking to Scorpius?”

“James and Lily.”

“James and Lily who?”

“I didn’t ask. Just James and Lily. James is starting his second year and he promised he’d show me all the shortcuts to the classrooms if I ended up in the same house as his brother who’s also a first year and I think they have a cousin who’s also a first year but she’s a girl and-“

“Scorpius, calm down and don't talk so fast. Do you even know what house this James belongs to?”

“He… no, I don’t. Probably not Ravenclaw though, he didn’t seem to like books.”

“Ah, probably not then.” It seemed as if his dad had calmed down himself now, although there was still something tense over him when he ordered their ice creams in a brightly coloured ice cream parlour.

“Don’t get me wrong, Scorpius, I’m happy that you are making friends, but Hogwarts has a deeply rooted house rivalry. You said that this James would show you around if you end up in the same house as his brother? Well, how do you think that will play out if you are sorted in Slytherin and James and his brother are in Gryffindor?”

“But James is cool! Well, he cheers for Puddlemore, but other than that- he plays quidditch and he seemed really nice.”

For a moment it seemed as if Scorpius’ dad tried to frown and smile at the same time, but finally he just sighed.

“All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t set your hopes up too high. No matter how things play out with your friend you’ll always have your housemates after you’re sorted, remember that. Your house will be like a second family. And you'll have your cousins. Natalia will be in your year, and probably sorted in Slytherin like her sister. Theodore, Pansy, Daphne, Astoria and I were all in Slytherin-”

Scorpius nodded dejectedly, keeping his eyes on his melting ice cream.

“Yeah, but last time uncle Theo and aunt Daph were over Venetia said she never wanted to come back and Natalia didn't speak to me even before I pranked them. Anyway, I reckon Al might be a Ravenclaw, they said he reads a lot and Slytherin and Ravenclaw don’t have much rivalry, right?”

“Did you meet this Al?”

“No, but-”

“But nothing. Don’t put too many expectations on someone you don’t even know. And pouring glue in your cousin's hair does not constitute a prank, it was a very cruel thing to do to a young lady.”

Scorpius refrained from saying that he didn’t know his future housemates either (beyond possibly his cousins) yet it seemed fine to expect that they would be some new family. The next ten minutes or so was a wordless competition between father and son in who could eat slowest.

Finally, mercifully, Scorpius mum showed up to all but fall into a chair and bemoan the warm weather over her own fruit-topped sorbet. Apparently she had run into the woman and girl they'd met at Ollivanders ("Mrs Nettlebed, and her lovely daughter Emma, Scorpius please don't put anything in her hair once term starts") and had convinced Mrs. Nettlebed to join the book circle that Scorpius' mum was part of.

By the time they got home Scorpius was drained, and he spent the rest of the day just looking at the pictures in his new school books.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the fakeouts with dark-haired and red-haired kids that weren't Potters or Weasleys, I promise that Scorpius and Albus will meet in the next chapter. I just have to figure out how to worm around the stupid sorting hat's stupid song because I have no talent for lyrics whatsoever.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the sake of moving the fic along I gave up on the sorting hat song. That said, I warmly recommend the sorting hat songs by Parsley the Lion which can be found here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2364908/1/Sorting-Hat-Songs  
Also, I know Rowling probably intended for Lorcan and Lysander Scamander to be a lot younger, but I want to have Luna’s kids in the main cast so they are James’ age and friends now.

By September first the warmth seemed to have seeped out of the summer, and the morning was damp and cold. Scorpius and his parents walked briskly into King’s Cross at 10:45. Thankfully Affy and Metty meticulously made sure that everything was packed, and arranged safe apparition for them. Everyone else had been too nervous to really do anything good, trying to drag out the morning and speed it up at the same time.

They had just enough time to pause in the muggle part of the train station long enough for them to collect themselves. Scorpius mum carefully corrected their clothes, smoothed back her hair, smoothed back Scorpius hair, and fussed with his dad's tie a final time before they were deemed ready to pass the barrier.

The other side was bustling with families, the vast majority dressed in casual muggle clothing that to Scorpius looked much more exotic than the crisp suits his parents had transfigured their robes into. The train was already brimming, every window crowded with students leaning out. Scorpius felt a knot harden in his stomach and he squeezed his mother's hand, before hurriedly letting go. He wasn't a little child that needed his hand held, and he wasn't afraid just because he’d be surrounded by strangers.

She looked down at him and in one swift motion pulled him into a hug, and okay, maybe he was still a child, just a little bit, because the knot loosened and he could breathe a lot easier.

They found uncle Theo and aunt Daphne just in time to get on the train. Natalia and another girl were leaning out through a window talking to their parents, so Scorpius hurried onboard. Natalia’s compartment was already full, but the one next to it only had two boys - both older than him and huddled over some kind of flat noisy rectangle.

Scorpius scooted his trunk in under the seat opposite the huddlers and leaned out of the window, reaching out for his parents one last time.

“Make sure to write if anything happens dear.”

"I will mum, I promise."

"And in the unlikely event that nothing happens, write anyway."

"Yes dad."

With a shudder, the Hogwarts Express lurched forward, and they had to let go of each other. He watched them until they disappeared in the distance, and then sat down.

He wouldn’t see them until Christmas. He had never been away from his family for more than a week at a time, and now he wouldn’t see them until Christmas.

Just as he was starting to feel sorry for himself the door to the compartment banged up so suddenly that one of the boys nearly dropped the noisy rectangle. Scorpius had a split second to recognize James, framed by two blond boys that looked very nearly identical. All three were wrapped up in blue scarves.

Oh , so he was a Ravenclaw.

“Aha!” James declared and pointed at Scorpius. “There you are!”

“Here I am,” said Scorpus, feeling stupid and nervous and grinning like an idiot all the same. “Hello James.”

James, smile a mile wide, seemed to grow a little at the recognition.

“Oh good, you remember me - I like to make that impression. This is Lorcan Scamander and this is Lysander Scamander and we’re kidnapping you! If you don’t mind, I mean, you can totally stay with these losers if you want to but we’ve got a much cooler compartment with cooler people.”

The huddle boys seemed all too happy to get the compartment to themselves again, Lorcan-or-maybe-Lysander helped Scorpius carry his trunk while James and Lysander-or-maybe-Lorcan led the way towards the back of the train.

“So, I don’t mind changing seats at all, but tell me more about this cool compartment of cool people.”

“It’s the last carriage,” said James, walking backwards. “Most of the cool is with us though, but we left Al and our cousin Rose there to hold our seats. Trust me, you are better off getting to know your fellow firsties and us than some dull 4th years.”

The Scamander who wasn’t helping Scorpius with his trunk hastily spun James back around before he walked into a door, and they continued down the train. A few compartments down James threw open the last door just as vigorously as he had when he came to fetch Scorpius.

“I have returned!” he declared, and plopped down on the nearest seat. On the opposite seat sat a girl and a boy that James gestured to expansively.

“Scorpius, meet Rose Weasley and Albus. Rosie and Al, meet Scorpius, I found him in the quidditch shop when we were in Diagon Alley.”

Weasley was the one who most blatantly stared at Scorpius. She seemed to have twice as much hair and freckles than anyone else Scorpius had seen, and was already dressed in her Hogwarts robes. Al had thin face, matching thin frame and an oddly faded brown hair colour.

“Hi,” said Scorpius. “I’m Scorpius Malfoy. Do you mind if I sit here?”

“I didn’t drag you here to make you stand up for the rest of the train ride,” scoffed James, and pulled at Scorpius’ shirt while a Scamander gave him a gentle push. Scorius followed the motion and sat down between James and the Scamander with shorter hair - the one who had helped him carry the trunk.

Meanwhile Weasley’s face had darkened significantly, and Scorpius wished he wasn’t sitting directly opposite her.

“So, which house do you think you’ll be sorted in?” she asked.

“Slytherin. Everyone I know has been sorted there.”

“Well, you don’t have to be in Slytherin for that,” James said. “Even if literally everyone in your family has been in Slytherin you could still be sorted in another house if you want to. You could be in Gryffindor!”

From the window seat, Al scoffed and glared out the window.

Scorpius felt his neck go stiff and he wished dearly that he wasn’t boxed in where he sat. When he turned to look James in the eyes they were way too close.

“Actually, I really want to be sorted in Slytherin, and I don’t see why that would be a problem.”

During a few agonising seconds everything was quiet, save from the low rattling of the train going steadily north. Then, finally, Al looked at Scorpius.

“Why do you want to be in Slytherin?”

Scorpius relaxed a few notches at the absolute lack of accusation in his voice. He actually seemed genuinely interested.

“Mostly because it's a family tradition I guess, but it also seems more-” he grappled for the phrase his grandmother would use “-more proactive. The best way to accomplish something is to strive for it. That’s the whole point of ambition.”

Scorpius considered admitting that he had no idea what it was he wanted to accomplish yet, but thought better of it.

“Besides, if I’m sorted into Hufflepuff or Gryffindor my grandmother would probably wither away from shame and my parents would pull me out of Hogwarts for homeschooling.”

To his surprise Scorpius found himself tousled good-naturedly by the Scamander next to him.

“Unfortunate seating, let's hope that me and James won't rub off our Gryfindorkishness and Puffiness on you on the way to Hogwarts. On the upside, Lysander is in Ravenclaw and both Al and Rose have the smarts to get in there if they want.”

It took a moment for it to sink in, but then Scorpius eyes widened. Of course, he should have realized that James wasn't exactly Ravenclaw material.

“You’re not Ravenclaws? I thought, since you all got blue scarves-”

James and Lorcan shared amused grins, while Lysander laughed outright, gasping something about James stranded outside some door - whatever that meant.

“These scarves? Nah, these are Puddlemore scarves. I told you that I’m a fan of them already in Diagon Alley, didn’t I? We’re still celebrating their victory against the Arrows last week.”

Scorpius took the opportunity to change the subject with great enthusiasm.

“Did you get to see the match? I tried talking dad into going but - anyway, from what I read in the referee of the match it was the best match in the whole season.”

“The review in Quidditch Weekly? Our mum wrote that one, she brought the lot of us along to help catch all the details.”

“Your mum is Ginevra Potter? That’s awesome!”

For some reason, James and the Scamanders thought that was hilarious and James didn’t stop laughing until Rose, rather viciously, kicked him on the leg.

“James, he’s still a Malfoy and dad said we should stay away and he wants to be in Slytherin-”

Amazingly, James sobered up as if someone had flicked a switch.

“Oh come off it Rose. None of you are sorted yet and we’re just talking quidditch. You and Al might not appreciate a bludger to the head, but some of us got good taste in entertainment.”

“But James!”

James shrugged.

“Our families can’t choose our friends for us forever. Are you going to write home every time you are about to talk to a new student so that your dad can screen them and give you permission first? Because that’s not going to work.” He glanced at Lorcan and Lysander “Not that I’d trade you guys away, but I’ve understood we’ve all been fraternizing with our respective housemates without asking our parents for permission slips. Lysander even talks to people who read books, horrible thought.

Then James wriggled around so that he was sort-of facing Scorpius again and held out his hand in the cramped space between them.

“How about we try this again, and do it properly? I’m James Potter, soon-to-be second year Gryffindor.”

After a brief hesitation Scorpius took the offered hand.

“Scorpius Malfoy, hopefully soon-to-be Slytherin.” Scorpius let go of James’ hand and his eyes drifted to Al. “What about you? Which house do you want to be sorted in?”

Al shrugged, tugged at his hair, looked out the window, tugged his hair a bit harder and mumbled “dunno”. James filled in for him instead.

“Aunt Mione, that’s Rose’s mum, has tried to make him thoroughly Ravenclaw but everyone in the family so far has been in Gryffindor so he’ll probably end up in Hufflepuff just to be strange.”

This time Al shot an outright venomous look at James.

“That’s funny, the last two weeks you seemed convinced that I’d be in Slytherin.”

“Really?” Scorpius couldn’t quite contain the slight sliver of hope in his voice. “That would be awesome! Oh, and I just remembered another reason to join Slytherin - dad says the common room is below the lake! Instead of normal windows you can look up in the lake from below and if the lights are kept low we might get to see merpeople!”

They continued talking. Not so much about houses anymore but about their families. Well, about the Potter, Weasley and Scamander families at least, since they seemed to have an endless supply of cool stories. Scorpius didn’t really have a whole lot to add unless the conversation drifted towards quidditch, but that was fine. James especially knew a lot of stories that seemed new even to Weasley and Al. Stories about how James’ and Al’s dad (Harry Potter!) had fought the Dark Lord Voldemort, survived the killing curse twice and became Master of Death, though when Scorpius asked if he still was Master of Death and if it gave him special powers James said that their dad had forfeited that mastery. Al and Rose insisted that Harry Potter was a normal if slightly overprotective father and uncle. As such, Scorpius felt fairly sure that James was just making it up.

On the topic of overprotective parents who seemed to screen everyone who comes within touching distance of their children, Scorpius was tempted to mention the oversized Malfoy Manor and how Scorpius had managed to scare away (or anger away) the few children his parents had allowed over. He didn’t though, not when Weasley was glaring worse than Venetia Nott had after The Glue Incident. Instead, Scorpius felt inspired to complain about hair gel.

That somehow led to James telling an uproaring story about how Albus had seen Oliver - a distant cousin on their father’s side - using hair gel and had tried to make his own using his potion supplies.

“And that is why Al’s hair is several shades lighter than it has ever been before.“ James finished his tale. Al was by then several shades darker in the face but looked more uncomfortable than angry.

Scorpius got up, unearthed several tins of hair gel from his trunk and dumped them all over Al.

“Take as many as you want - I hate this stuff and don't intend on using it until I have to go home. It makes my hair feel weird.”

“Yeah, it’s stuck to your skull. Oliver did it like this,” Al said and violently rubbed gel into his hair until it stood on end like spikes.

* * *

The food trolley came by a few hours after they had left the station, and by then Weasley had unearthed some school books that she, Al and Lysander were hunched over. Scorpius would have felt left out if he hadn't been sandwiched between James and Lorcan, who were enthusiastically showing him how to do tricks with exploding snap cards, a sheet of paper and a pair of tweezers.

While the others grabbed for small moneybags and enthusiastically talked about cauldron cakes and pumpkin pastries, Scorpius rummaged through his trunk until he got hold of a tin box. Inside the box were several neatly wrapped sandwiches. Fluffy white bread with chewy crust and filled with Affy's curry chicken.

Scorpius hoped to Merlin that his parents would never find out that the house elves were feeding him leftovers. It sounded like something they’d object to, but Scorpius was not prepared to give up his favourite food just because it was made with yesterday’s dinner.

Just as Scorpius was about to dig in, he noticed that the others were looking strangely at him. James cleared his throat.

“You know, if you, err, didn’t bring any money then you could have some of our candy.”

Scorpius stared at James until he remembered that his mouth was open, and then said the first thing that came to his mind.

“Why would I want your candy?”

Weasley instantly bristled, but she seemed to do that every time Scorpius said something.

“What, you think you’re too good for our candy?”

Scorpius looked at his sandwich mournfully. The curry sauce had already started to drip but he put it back in the thin paper wrap and closed the box so that he could rummage through his trunk for evidence.

“Weasley, I already have, hold on - some chocolate frogs, a few bags of Bertie Botts beans - sweet and original selection respectively, three Wildberry Wands, one Liquorice Wand - one of you can have that I don’t really like them, juice bottles, some jelly slugs and Whizbees though I’ve already started on those aaaaand enough pocket money to buy more if I want to. Which I won’t, because I really like these sandwiches.”

“Mate,” Lorcan said with a hint of ave and one half of the liquorice wand. “Where do you keep your clothes and books when you have half a candy store stashed in your trunk?”

Scorpius glanced at the tightly folded and rolled clothes and the neat stacks of books below the top layer of candy - all courtesy of Affy who had assured him that everything would stay in place until he needed them.

“It doesn’t take that much space.”

Scorpius got back to his sandwiches while the others pooled their candy, and James and the Scamanders went back to regaling them with tales about the Hogwarts teachers.

* * *

Rubeus Hagrid was hands down the most frightening person Scorpius had ever met. He was large. Not just tall and not merely overweight, but the kind of overwhelmingly large that implied that he could kill you without even noticing. That and the grey-tinged mane of hair covering his head, coupled with clothes apparently made out of various bits of animals, gave Scorpius the impression that he better keep a distance.

Weasley and Al on the other hand ran up to Hagrid, while James and the Scamanders disappeared among the older students. Scorpius tried to keep up with Al, but got separated from him by a large group of other first years. By the time he reached the boats Al was long gone, presumably with Weasley.

Instead Scorpius was seated with the Bellamy boy he'd met in Diagon Alley, and a dark-skinned girl who introduced herself as Naomi Arrington. However, those two had been sitting together on the train and soon continued what appeared to be a very complicated and heated discussion about something. Scorpius made a half-hearted attempt to join in, but they seemed to be headed straight towards a full-blown argument so he thought better of it and focused on Hogwarts instead.

It really was a huge castle. Impressive, but almost overbearing in ancient grandness and nothing like Malfoy Manor. Then again... Scorpius peered down into the pitch-black water. The Manor didn’t even have a pond, never mind a lake, at least not on the premises.

“Did you drop something?” Arrington asked.

“What? No, it’s just, we might already be passing over the dungeons, they reach under the lake.”

“Really? Isn’t that dangerous though? What if there’s a leak? They’d be flooded.”

Bellamy shook his head.

“They probably have all underground areas covered with protective spell work."

"Yeah, my godmother Pansy works with things like that. The magical government of Japan has developed safe-room charms that could withstand just about anything from a flood or earthquake to huge bombs. And my parents told me that it was tradition when they went to school that the students who lived down there each added another layer of protection spells, just in case. Since the dungeon dorms have windows into the lake and the merpeople sometimes bash into them."

"The what now!? Oh my god, magic is so cool."

It was hard to see in the darkness, but the excitement in her voice was enough for Scorpius to imagine her eyes sparkling as she leaned towards him.

"You're a mugglelborn? I've never met one before."

"Really? I'd never met magic people before I got my letter. Is there like, something stopping you from interacting with normal people? I mean not magical people?"

Bellamy scoffed but Scorpius pretended he didn’t notice.

"Well, we have at least three miles to the nearest neighbour. If we go out it has to be somewhere we can travel with magic. So it’s usually either other magical families or Diagon Alley.”

“It’s not as if we’d have anything to talk with muggles about,” grumbled Bellamy. “Since they can’t know about magic and we get in trouble if they find out.”

* * *

Scorpius kept close to Bellamy and Arrington as they were led from the boats to the antechamber. Once they were gathered, a tiny man walked in through another door at the opposite end of the room and climbed a small stepladder in front of them.

"Welcome!" he said, spreading his arms wide. "Welcome to Hogwarts, to the first of seven years of magical education, and in a little while, welcome to your first start of term banquet! Before that, however, you will be sorted into one of four houses. Which house you are sorted into will determine who you will have classes with, which common room you will spend your free time in and in which dormitory you will sleep. We encourage inter-house friendship, but the strongest bond will always be to your house.

"The four houses are Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. All of them great, and all eager to see you join them. Whenever you succeed you will be a credit to your house, and likewise when you misbehave you will be a curse upon it. In less dramatic phrasing, you can earn and lose points. The house with the most points at the end of the school year will be rewarded for it. In case you don't know which table you should go to when you are sorted, they are colour-coded for convenience: green Slytherin, yellow Hufflepuff, red Gryffindor and blue Ravenclaw.

"There is still a few minutes before the ceremony begins. Be mindful that you will be sorted alphabetically in front of the rest of the students and the teachers, I want to see all of you make a smart first impression on them!"

The little man climbed off the stepladder, and the moment he walked out the door the room everyone started talking.

"I'm red-green colour blind and my surname is Anelli! What do I do!?" a boy whispered very loudly while tugging at his hair.

"Pray that you're sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw?" another boy suggested. Weasley punched him on the shoulder.

"Don't say that! Look, if there's a flag or something over the tables it should have the proper emblems too, not just the colour. Gryffindor has a lion, Slytherin a snake. And failing that, just go to whoever cheers loudest. Cousin Louis told me that when he was sorted into Gryffindor the table gave him a standing ovation. What is it Al?"

"Rose, you and Louis are Weasleys. He probably got a standing ovation because he was the last name before dinner started."

"Al, you are not helping."

Arrington came up to console the boy, patting him gently on the arm.

"I'm sure it will be alright. Oh, but it's a bloody poor luck with the name. I'll likely be sorted just after you, and I'd love to be in the green house! If I had been sorted before you-"

"Arrington you can't be in Slytherin," Bellamy cut in. "Slytherin doesn't accept muggleborns. They only recently started accepting half-bloods. And anyway you can't pick a house just because you like the colour. "

Scorpius could see Arrinton puff up ready to launch right back into another argument with Bellamy, but Anelli looked very much relieved.

"Oh thank god. I'm muggleborn too so that makes it much more likely that I don't have to know which is which. Which one do you think is better between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff?"

"Ravenclaw," Scorpius said quickly. Poor muggleborns obviously didn't have any idea what they were getting into.

* * *

Finally they were led into the Great Hall, and the large banners hanging over the tables did indeed have emblems on them. On a stool front and centre at their end of the Great Hall sat a very shabby hat.

Scorpius probably should have paid more attention when it started singing, something-something this is what the houses are like, but instead he kept glancing around the room. Venetia, James, Lorcan and Lysander were all spread out - one for each table. Scorpius could just barely make out the prefect badges on Venetia and the boy next to her. Lysander was gesturing at the line of first years while talking to a very tired-looking girl who already had a book out. James was deep in a cluster of redheads and unsubtly distributing noisemakers. Lorcan was industriously folding something out of napkins.

There was a smattering of applause after the song, and then the tiny wizard took out a roll of parchment and started reading the names.

"Anelli, Richard."

Anelli walked up to the hat, and it almost immediately placed him in Gryffindor, which erupted in applause and the ungodly sound of several noisemakers.

"Arington, Naomi."

Arrington walked up to the stool with long strides and very forcefully crammed the hat over her head. There was a very long silence before it called out Ravenclaw. She stood up and threw the hat on the floor before storming off to the table. Bellamy was sorted into Ravenclaw right after her and wisely sat down at the opposite end of the table.

Boorman, Bower, Brooks, Corran and Decio were all either in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Finally Prudence Derrick was sorted into Slytherin, to the cheer of their table and heavy groans from the still firstie-less Hufflepuffs.

Gifford was sorted into Ravenclaw, and then Evelyn Gobb was called up. The hat had barely touched her had before it called out Slytherin, and the girl took it off again and looked at it with a strange expression until Professor Flitwick gently shooed her to the Slytherin table.

Gorsemoor and Greenwood were both sorted into Hufflepuff, finally making that table erupt in applause as well. Isaacs went to Ravenclaw, Camilla Makehay to Slytherin, and then it was Scorpius' name being called. Before he put the hat on his head he looked over towards James at the Gryffindor table, who gave him a thumbs-up, and towards Venetia at the Slytherin table who made a much more impatient gesture.

"Well, isn't this interesting," the hat said right into Scorpius' ear. "You are quite quick-witted, aren't you? And a daring young man in the making, that is for sure."

"I want to be in Slytherin."

"Are you certain? You have potential for plenty of both bravery and loyalty, I daresay."

"Slytherin please."

"I suppose that is the family tradition. Very well - SLYTHERIN!"

Feeling almost lightheaded, Scorpius quickly took off the hat and walked away to the table, and barely had time to sit down before Emma Nettlebed, the girl from the wand shop, followed him.

Nettles and Nolton were both Gryffindors, and then it was Natalia's turn to be sorted. Scorpius caught her eyes and made a thumbs-up. If they hadn't been in front of the whole school he was sure she would have returned the gesture with something a lot less friendly.

"My cousin," he said as explanation to Emma, right before Natalia was sorted into Slytherin as well and almost ran down to Venetia's side of the table.

O'Dowd was a Gryffindor, Simon Ogden Slytherin, Owly Ravenclaw, Philip Penkridge Slytherin and then Albus was called to the stool.

Scorpius could see Weasley said something when Al passed her, James was elbowed by a nearby redhead for whooping while Al walked up, and then he put on the hat.

"SLYTHERIN!"

The Great Hall was completely silent.

No one applauded, one of the older students next to Scorpius muttered that it had to be some kind of joke. More murmurs spread through the room. James' mouth was hanging open so wide that it could be seen across the Hall. Weasley had her hands clasped in front of her mouth. Al looked heartbroken.

Thinking quickly, Scorpius scrambled up on the bench, catching everyone's attention as he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

"WELL? ARE YOU COMING OVER HERE OR WHAT?"

At the teacher's table Professor Vaisey and another teacher started clapping with exaggeration until the rest of the staff and the students caught on. Scorpius jumped down as Al walked up to the table, red-faced but smiling.

"Merlin, I can't believe you're a worse attention hog than James!"

"Thank you," Scorpius beamed in reply.

Purkiss was a Ravenclaw, but Snell, Stash and Stump were all Hufflepuffs. Sweeting was Gryffindor, Thurkell was Ravenclaw, Toothill, Tucket and Walker were Hufflepuffs and Walters was Ravenclaw. Then it was Weasley's turn and she walked up to the hat looking almost ill. When it called out Gryffindor she ran towards James and the nearby redheads so fast she almost forgot to leave the hat behind.

By now it was only four students left to be sorted. Williams was a Hufflepuff, Winston Gryffindor, Tamsin Wright Slytherin, and Humphrey Wyler, who had spent half the sorting surreptitiously reading a small book, was sorted into Hufflepuff.

Once everyone was seated at the tables, a little old lady rose from the teacher's table and went up to the podium. She was squat, and a little hunched with age, but with thick white curly hair topped by a small hat covered in flowers.

"Welcome dear first year students, and congratulations on your sorting! I am headmistress Sprout, I am sure you will do marvellous in your houses. And to our returning students, welcome back! The feast will be served in just a moment, but after that I have a few announcements to make."

And with that, the tables filled up with food and the air was a din as seemingly everyone started talking at once.

Further down the table Evelyn Gobb made a delighted sound and brought her hands to her face. Scorpius privately agreed, he had never seen so many different foodstuffs in one place. Even Affy’s Grande Christmas Dinner, a five course experience, paled before the spread. Al, who hadn’t eaten anything but flavoured sugar on the train, piled his plate high with herb-buttered bread rolls, sausages, fried potatoes and chicken. Scorpius, who had eaten a sensible lunch and most of his whizzbees, settled for an exotic smelling stew of some kind. He nearly toppled his plate when something pressed up against his legs.

Bending down and looking under the table, his eyes met two big golden circles in a patch of fluffy darkness.

“Someone’s cat has escaped,” he said.

One of the upperclassmen looked down.

“That’s just Mr Hayes. He belongs to Ms Ground, the caretaker. He always makes a tour down the tables to beg for food. Don’t let him sit in your lap or he’ll eat right off your plate.”

Below the table, Mr Hayes dunked his head against Scorpius’ knee.

“I’d let him,” said Scorpius, whose experience with pets until now had been dominated by a homicidal owl. He stuck a bit of chicken breast under the table to seal the deal.

* * *

After the dessert was cleared off, the headmistress rose up again.

"Has everyone eaten their fill? Excellent! Now, as usual, students are not allowed in the forbidden forest unless accompanied by a teacher. And because of certain incidents last year, I stress that the teacher must know that they are accompanying said students."

It was hard to see from the Slytherin table, but it looked to Scorpius as if she was looking at James. Mostly because he seemed very pleased with himself.

"You should also remember that performing magic in the hallways is forbidden. If you want to practise outside of your lessons then that is commendable, but keep it to your common rooms or the designated study rooms. Anyone found breaking this rule will lose house points and serve detention with our caretaker, Ms Ground

"Tryouts for the quidditch teams will happen during the second week of term, anyone interested in playing can contact Mr Wood.

"Lastly, we welcome our new potions teacher, Professor Corner. Professor Edward sends her regards, but will be focusing on her research on transformative potions in North America.

"Now, I can see that some of you are getting very tired indeed. It has been a long and exciting day for many of you, so I won't keep you up. Prefects, please lead your first year students to bed safely. Good night, and sleep well. You have a weekend of adventure ahead of you before the classes start properly.

Scorpius was so full that he could have fallen asleep right there over the table, but shortly after the Headmistress had stepped away from the podium Venetia rose and clapper her hands until all first years were looking her way.

"First years to me! Come on, all first years, line up so I can show you the way. The dungeons will be difficult to navigate for the first few days so pay attention! You too Scorpius, or I'll have you sleep in a broom closet."

They crowded around her as best they could, in the tentative new alliances formed on the train or around the table. Prudence Derrick and Camilla Makehay seemed to have instantly befriended each other, Emma stood with Scorpius and Al, and Evelyn Gobb was in the periphery of their group. Tamsin Wright and Natalia stood with Simon Ogden and Philip Penkridge.

"My name is Venetia Nott, and this is Darren Warble. We are prefects for Slytherin, now come on, and don't get lost."

It was a long disorienting walk through winding corridors and small stairways before they reached a perfectly ordinary-looking piece of wall.

"Remember, you may under no circumstances tell students from other houses how to find this place or what the password is. Pay attention, Natrix Squamata."

The wall opened up to let them through into a dim sitting room with a fireplace, couches and straight-backed chairs. It was not unlike a darker version of the Malfoy Manor tea room, a little stonier but with tapestries that made it look a little less intimidating.

"Don't wander away just yet firsties! See that notice board? The password is changed every two weeks, keep an eye on the board to memorise the current and upcoming password. The curfew is also listed there, make certain that you are safely in the common room well before that time or you will get in trouble. Now there's just two more things I need to go over with you.

"Some of you are no doubt from a muggle background. That is okay, but don't be flashy about it. Slytherin is a very traditionalist house with many old families. As a member of our house, you are expected to display the dignity and grace of proud witches and wizards. Do your best to learn and honour the traditions associated with magic.

"Lastly, I am sure Professor Flitwick have already said something to this effect but from now on, Slytherin is your family. As a family, we will stand united against anyone or anything that threaten one of us. No matter what petty disputes you may develop between each other, you are expected to support each other when it counts. An insult to one of your housemates is an insult to you. And if I ever catch any one of you leaving a housemate behind then I swear to Merlin you will regret it. Any questions?"

No one had any questions, at least none they dared to ask then. Scorpius and Al wandered over to the noticeboard to see what else was posted there. Something about optional weekend classes, some of which sounded horribly boring (like grammar and choir) and others seemed kind of interesting (duelling especially, but also a science class which seemed very exotic). Then Evelyn Gobb made a sound like a small injured bird behind them.

"My phone is dead!" she cried, tearful eyes turned to Venetia. "I had it turned off when we got to the castle, but when I turned it on now to call my parents it just - fizzled and blacked out. I- I promised my parents I would call them tonight."

Venetia closed her eyes, and seemed to swear under her breath before opening them again.

"Okay. Can't you send them an owl tomorrow? It's past curfew already, and I'm sure they'd understand."

Evelyn seemed to sink in over herself, the black rectangle that was apparently a phone cradled in her hands.

"Please? I promised them I'd call, they wouldn't let me go unless I did. They'll worry."

Finally Venetia caved, with a deep sigh.

"Alright, I make no promises but I'll lead you to professor Vaisey's office and ask him if we can get a permission slip to go to the owlery. You can write a letter to your parents letting them know that you are safe, but that phones don't work here. It should reach them before the morning. Come on now."

They hurried off, and before the door had even closed behind them Philip Penkridge asked, "But why would anyone not let their kids go to Hogwarts? Do you think they wanted her in Beauxbatons instead?"

"Don't be daft," said Emma. "They're muggles of course, or they'd have asked her to send an owl instead of using that phone thing."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturday, first day after the sorting. And Hagrid wouldn't be Hagrid without some horrifying pet.

Since they had arrived at Hogwarts on a Friday, all four first year boys in Slytherin slept in late, or so Scorpius was told after Al shook him awake. By then Simon and Philip had already left. They still managed to make it to breakfast though, where Scorpius’ father's very old owl Ruthless was harassing the other Slytherin students. 

With caution honed from experience Scorpius managed to negotiate with Ruthless until he had access to a package containing even more candy and a brief letter inquiring about his sorting. Most of the candy was handed out in reparations to the students that had been bitten or had their food stolen by Ruthless, and while Evelyn was outside of Ruthless' range of terror she looked so miserable that they agreed to toss her some chocolate frogs.

Scorpius hadn't had the foresight to bring any writing supplies to breakfast, but some older students were kind enough to offer him a scrap of parchment and let him borrow a quill in exchange for some jelly beans. Thus armed he scribbled down a short version of yesterday's events. 

_Good morning Mother and Father (and Grandmother and Grandfather). _   
_I was sorted in Slytherin like you thought, and so was Albus, James brother. James really was a Gryffindor but he's nice about it so I think we're still friends. My classmates all seem nice, but Evelyn Gobb had problems with her muggle phone which died, Emma Nettlebed said maybe the magic killed it. Cousin Venetia helped her to the owlery though so that worked out I think. Albus and I might go to visit professors Longbottom and Hagrid this today because he promised his parents he would. _   
_I love you and I will write more tomorrow I promise_   
_Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy_

_PS how do I make Ruthless not attack my classmates? He's been stealing bacon from the plate._

Scorpius, lacking a proper envelope, folded the parchment neatly and, with some dexterity and luck, managed to hold it out so that Ruthless grabbed it in his beak without pinching any of his fingers. Finally the horrible owl flew off.

* * *

Scorpius and Albus made their way out to the greenhouses after breakfast, to see if professor Longbottom was there. They found him carefully pruning some kind of vine that repeatedly tried to steal the pruning shears from him.

"Hello Albus! Quite the sorting yesterday wasn't it? I'd ask if you did that on purpose, but that sounds more like something James would do."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. And you're Malfoy right? Nice to see you standing up for Albus, but please don't do it on the benches in the future," the professor said while lightly whacking a vine with the flat of the sheers.

"Yes, and I won't sir. Do you know why everyone was so upset?"

Professor Longbottom rolled his eyes.

"Most of them just don't understand that some things are not their business. But it is quite remarkable. It's been a very long time since there's been Potters or Weasleys in Slytherin, a very long time since they've been _anywhere_ other than Gryffindor actually. But don't let that bother you Albus, if the hat thinks you'll do well in Slytherin then you probably will."

"You really think so?" Albus asked, and his shoulders relaxed a bit. Scorpius hadn't noticed just how tense Al had been until he heard the hopeful note in that question.

"Sure you will, you're a good boy Albus. Slytherin may have a lingering bad rep but that's mostly from things that happened before you were even born. Just keep doing good and people will forget the bad.

"Anyway! How long have you boys been such close friends? You're looking quite the opposites of your fathers, for all that you are their lookalikes."

"Since yesterday, we met on the train," said Al.

"I met James and Lily in Diagon Alley before that. Do you know my dad? And what's the story about our fathers? If they were our opposites, does that mean they were once inseparable childhood friends ripped apart by cruel house rivalries?"

The professor was surprised enough that the vine managed to grab the shears, though he quickly yanked them back.

"What? -no, nothing like that, and don't look so starstruck when you say things like that Mr Malfoy. They just never really got along, that's all. And sometimes that got a little too far. Er, and sometimes it went much too far and people got hurt, but that's old history now. Honestly I'm glad you aren't continuing that feud."

Professor Longbottom quickly changed the topic after that, talking about the excursions he and some other teachers took turns leading through the edges of the forbidden forest.

* * *

Next they went to visit professor Hagrid, who apparently lived alone in a small house the size of Malfoy Manor's broom shed, right by the edge of the forest. Before they were even within a hundred meters of the hut an enormous grey dog sprung from the forest, galloping them at a terrifying speed. 

"Bessie! Bessie stop that! Heel!" called Hagrid from somewhere outside of Scorpius very limited scope of focus. 

Bessie apparently had no intentions to do any such thing as stop or heel. Scorpious crouched down, protecting his stomach with his knees and his head with his arms, hoping that there'd be enough left of him heal afterwards. 

He realised too late that he should have pulled Albus down with him, right as the dog barrelled into Al and knocked him over.

_'Goodbye best friend, it was nice knowing you. All 24 hours.'_

Thankfully, Hagrid caught up and by the sound of it pulled Bessie off and Albus up.

"Sorry 'bout that Al, she didn't hurt ye did she?"

"I'm good Hagrid, just a bit bruised. She weighs a ton! Scorpius are you okay?"

Scorpius uncovered his face. Al was indeed not mauled, and while Bessie was obviously straining to get loose she was also wagging her entire butt together with her tail. 

"Yes, I think the huge jumpable target that is you sufficiently distracted her. I didn't know dogs could grow that big! She looks like a pony-sized terrier."

"Malfoy is it? I’m Rubeus Hagrid. Sorry about Bessie, she still thinks she’s a pup.” 

Hagrid gave the dog an affectionate pat on the head, which was enough for her to all but vibrate with joy.

He led them into the hut, which seemed to have everything crammed into one small room. Things hung from the ceiling, there was an open fire with a tea kettle dangling over the flames, and the furniture looked rough, as if every piece had been constructed by hand.

There was a strange chittering sound from under the massive bed in the corner of the hut, and Hagrid hurriedly ushered them to the small kitchen table before reaching down and groping under the bed.

“I’ll get ya some tea in a minute, but first there’s someone I want you to meet.”

He pulled out his hand. Something black and jittery seemed stuck to it.

“The forbidden forest has a healthy colony of acromantulas, but lately they’ve been a bit… hostile to people. I think bringing back some that trusts us will mellow the rest.”

The small ball unfurled its legs until it was as large as Hagrid’s fist. It peered at Scorpius and Al before turning to Hagrid.

“I hunger.” it announced with a thin, wispy voice. 

Scorpius made sure he could see the acromantula the whole time they were in the hut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My estimated chapter count is officially out the window. This update was originally intended to cover the entire first week of classes but  
1\. It's getting way too long even though  
2\. some scenes are stubbornly refusing to let themselves be written. 
> 
> So from now on the chapters will be shorter, but hopefully more frequent? Next up we'll meet James again, for that promised tour of exciting Hogwarts secrets.

**Author's Note:**

> The entire fic is planned out in detail so I know where the heck I'm going, but I also have a full time job so actually fleshing that plan out into proper fic may take time. I'm a little hesitant to post for that reason, but I've had the outline lying in the proverbial drawer since 2013, time to stop fussing over the details and get it done.


End file.
